My Duty
by jean d'arc
Summary: He has just seen the White Walkers. An unimaginable threat looms over the realm. He must fulfill his duty. He must warn the people of the upcoming danger … Season 1 - Episode 1: To the brave Brother of the Watch who tried to warn us all before it all happened.


**_My duty. _**

**_Summary: He has just seen the White Walkers. An unimaginable threat looms over the realm. He must fulfill his duty. He must warn the people of the upcoming danger… Season 1 episode 1. _**

**_(translation of a story written in Spanish as part of a challenge: death is so final")_**

**_._**

**_._**

_I saw them … I saw the white walkers … I saw them … I saw the white walkers. … _

His mind kept repeating the same words over and over again. He had no control over his lips, which opened and closed by themselves giving voice to the fear brewing in his gut. The phrase appeared to be left hanging in the thick foggy cloud that covered his face as the warm breath that left his mouth came in contact with the freezing cold that surrounded him in that deep dense northern forest.

_I saw them … I saw the white walkers … I saw them … I saw the white walkers. … _

The world had to know. He had to tell them, he had to warn them. It was his duty. He had sworn his vows many years ago, he had sworn he would protect the realm and the people from these same fantastic creatures he had just seen. The problem is that until now, these creatures were just that: fantastic. They were naught by monsters out of the mouths of old disgruntled drunkards, the threats of stern Nans trying to scare unruly children, and the nightmares of those scared little children who misbehaved. Children much like the boy he had once been. He remembered his old Grandmamma telling him horror stories of the living dead, terrifying beasts who would kill you just by breathing the same air as you, tales about the cruel fate of wandering around frozen woods for all eternity which awaited naughty children. But these were just tales, weren't they?

_I saw them … I saw the white walkers … I saw them … I saw the white walkers. … _

No, these were not just tales. He had seen them. He had seen the mutilated bodies of men, women and children strewn across the snowy ground of the leafless forest. He had seen two his own Sworn Brothers of the Night Watch fall prey to these beings that defied imagination. He had seen how one forceful blow of their bright blue sword was all it took to sever the head from the shoulders of one of his comrades and he had seen the sheer terror reflected in the face of his other companion before we was also killed by the beast.

_I saw them … I saw the white walkers … I saw them … I saw the white walkers. … _

They are not men. They have no face. They have no soul. They are white – whiter than white. They are so white they are almost blue. Cold. Very cold. The lands beyond the Wall are cold, but this is even colder. He could hardly breathe. It felt like his head was stuck in a pail filled with ice and his nostrils were assaulted by a line of freezing smoke. He couldn't feel his legs and his hands were numb. But he had to keep going. He had to go back. He had to escape. He had to warn the realm of the danger they were about to face.

He ran until his legs gave up. And then he ran some more. He collapsed and he urged his legs on once again. He ran, he panted, he cried, he shivered. But he had to keep going.

A rider appeared in the distance, at last. He feared his tired eyes were playing tricks on him. He stared intently at the lone figure trying bridge the distance with his eyes and took a deep breath: yes! It was indeed a rider. He tried to beckon the man with his shaky hand and, giving his legs one last push, he inched forwards towards the path.

_I saw them … I saw the white walkers … I saw them … I saw the white walkers. … _

"Are you with the Watch?" the rider asked him.

He had no energy to reply, he could only nod with his head.

"Have you deserted?" the rider prodded.

And he could only nod again, his strength waning fast.

"I shall take you to Lord Stark. He's the Warden of the North, he'll deal with you."

_Yes! Lord Stark! He'll listen to me. He'll know what to do. I will tell him everything. Everything I saw, everything I know, everything I fear. _

_I saw them … I saw the white walkers … I saw them … I saw the white walkers. … _

The rider made him walk beside his horse and took him to his companions, who were waiting nearby. Then, they took him to a clearing in the forest. A boy was sent to fetch Lord Stark from his castle, so he took the time to take in his surroundings and the men who had brought him there. It struck him that they all looked far too serious. Why would they feel anxious if he still hadn't told them about the white walkers? A furtive glance to his side was all it took for him to understand.

His hopes were crushed: a chopping block. To be fair, it wasn't so much a chopping block as just a naked trunk, but it had the right shape: it had an indentation in the center with enough room for a neck to fit. The red stains that painted the trunk did nothing but confirm its purpose.

A deserter. That's all he was for these men, a mere deserter. And they were right. He had sworn a oath for life. His life belonged to the Watch. By abandoning it, however justified he felt he might be, he was forfeiting his life.

"I saw them … I saw the white walkers … I saw them … I saw the white walkers" he kept murmuring to whomever would want to listen. He needed to warn them. It was his duty. These men had to know. Lord Stark had to know.

The men were whispering amongst themselves and he wondered if maybe they were pondering what he had been telling them. All of a sudden the men shushed and stood in attention bowing slightly. Lord Stark had arrived and he had brought his sons. He thought maybe he could use this fact to his advantage. The more people who heard his warning, the better. Lord Stark's sons would tell their mother, their sisters, their Maester, their Nan, and these people would, in turn, tell other people.

But the stern look he received from Lord Stark and his party told him otherwise. They saw him as a criminal. A deserter.

"I know I broke my oath" he began in a shaky voice. "I'm a deserter. I should have gone back to the Wall. But I know what I saw. I saw the white walkers" he confessed to Lord Stark imagining how he would be congratulated for having run such risks to warn them, imagining all the questions Lord Stark would ask him, imagining how Lord Stark would reassure him that he would take care of things from now on and how the realm and all the people would be safe thanks to him. But that was not to happen.

"By the authority vested in me and in the name of King Robert Baratheon, I, Lord Eddard Stark of Winterfell, Warden of the North, sentence you to die." Lord Stark unsheathed his mighty longsword and he felt as the other men held him by the shoulders and forced him on his knees placing his head on the trunk.

"Please. Tell my family that I'm not a coward, that I served the Watch until my last breath. I saw them … I saw the white walkers … I saw them … I saw the white walkers …"

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Lord Stark raise his magnificent sword. _I have done my part, I have fulfilled my duty. I have warned them. Lord Stark will heed my warning. Thanks to me the world will be ready for the danger that approaches. And I'll be the hero. Songs will be written about me. I hope my family finds out soon. My mother will be very proud. … but I never gave Lord Stark my name, _was the last thought that crossed his mind before he heard the ominous swish of the sword as it made its swift way down.

.

.

THE END


End file.
